Electric power mechanism for operating awnings



` J. L. STUART 1,923,175 ELECTRIC POWER MECHANISM FOR OPERATING AWNINGSA I Aug. 22, 1933.

Filed Dec. 2, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 N mmllw n TIN. n uw:

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A TTORNE YS.

Aug. 22, 1933. J, L, STUART 1,923,175

ELECTRIC POWER MECHANISM FOR OPERATING AWNINGS Filed Dec. 2, 1931 2 sheets-smet 2.

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Patented Aug. 22,1933

`ELECTRIC POWER MECHAMSM. Foa= loritmi'irlwe. AwmNGsv c John Lenard Stuart, Oakland, Calif. Application December 2, '1931. serial Nes'zasrz 3cnims.\"(c1.156'44 'A VThe present invention relates to relectric power means especially adapted for,` although tractns awnings.

im Thepr cipal object of the invention is to provide an electric power mechanism for awnings of snch. size and construction that itcan be mounted ln a concealed or partly concealed position adjacent to the roller'k upon which the awning'is l Hound, and which doesnot project from or mar the'appeai'ance of the building wall, either upon its inner or outerA face., When the awning roller is'rmounted .in a. recess ofstandard size formed lli faceof the wall, my power mechanism can bewhjouy mused witmnthe recess, and when awning rolleris mounted upon'the face ofthe onheneath a protecting hood upon lthe tran-v c, stint-ber,` mechanism vcan be installed upon thegaoe'of Said wall or transom-bar immediately In either position the mech-vv the i'ller.

at least partly concealed, and is incon- "Spicugus, andrequlres no. additional bracket or f hpusng'projectglng from the wall, or supplemenrecess withinthewa l. f ther .object of the invention .isito `provide .anellectric power mechanism'inwhich a motor End edreducing gearingare inclosed within a -singlecasing of elogatedcylindrical formandl diameter, either with or without an autotic controlling switch, andin which a very great reduction of speedis obtained. Still fur ther objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from'.the following specifica-l tion, which should be `read Withthe understandthatch'ligels, within the scope of the appendl us, xnay be made in the form, construction arrangement of the several parts described in'- secication andshown in the accomanyigghrawmgs, without departingV from the gipir'fgthe invention as set forth in said-claims.-

understoodthat theiinvention is I toa device for operating'awnings, but embodied in powermechanisms for other m9,.'"j Y r.` I

rruyhrvention will now be described with referA eme' tothe accompanying drawings which illus-A one Vembodiment thereof and infwhich Fig. 1 is a plan view, part1y in section, of apor-J- tion dfabuilding Wall with a-:recess therein, in which is mounted an awning andV my electric power mechanism for operating the same;

longitudinal front view on a 'larger :and partly in section, oi my electric power riot connedto, the purpose of extending and re-Y Fig. 3`is a sectional plan View of the automatic control switch taken on the line y3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig."4 isa vertical section taken onthe line H of Fig. 1 and enlarged, showing the arrangevment of my power mechanism and the awning ina recess, vthe awning being shown fully retracted.

.'Figs. 5, 6l and '7 are transverse sections taken on the respective correspondingly numbered lines ovf`Fig.,2. Y' 65 Fig. Sis a section similar to Fig. 4, but 0n a smaller scale, showingan arrangement of mount# ing my power device and an awning upon a coin'- mon type of transom-bar used in store frontconstruction. 70

Fig, .9 is a diagram illustrating conventionally a, preferred arrangement of electric circuits for voperating and controlling my y'power device.

lIn the drawings," thev reference Vnumeral 11 designates a building wall Vwhich is provided 75 rwith a horizontal 'recess.f12,'asshown. in Figs. 1

vand f1, orewhichhas a transom-bar -lB 'provided' with a projecting hood 14, las .shown in Fig. 8. f v Inthe latter construction, the transom-bar forms ahsolid' strip across the front of the? buildingand 8O is usually. positioned'between the ground liioor show windowsand the mezzanine windows,nei

ther ofwhichareshown.

y`Theawning fabric or' cover is designated by the numeral 18,Y and. ity iswound upon a.v roller .19

suitably mounted-.in anyusual 'mannen not shown, within the recess 12A or in yfrontof 'thev transom-bar 13. `The outer `edge ofthe awning isprovided as usual with a pole or bar 20 from which hangs avalance2l. VWhen Vthe awning 90 is fully 'retractedl the valance21 covers and closes the-open front of the recess '12, as shown in Fig.

4, or'forms a protecting and inclosingcover in front of the transom-bar 13, as in Fig. -8. The means for supporting the outer edge or b ar 20 of 95 the awninghave been omittedY as forming no partk ofthe present invention, it, being under; stoodthiat lany customary arrangement of awning frame may be` used. which will permit the awning to be extendedv and retracted b y or upon rotation of itsroll'erl9. v l' My electric power mechanism,- designated generally by the` numeral 22,Y is inclosed within an velongated preferablyv cylindrical shell of la diameter smallfenough to enableit to be mounted 5 entirely ,within the recess v12 or beneath ,the pro.

- `tectinghood 14 ofthe transom-bar. The dimenf 'sions of such recesses-and transom-barsarefair-V ly well standardized inbuilding construction to awning. y In actual practice, the diameter of my power device 22 is approximately51/4 inches, allowing it to be rentirely housed, with Vthe awning roller, within. the recess or in front .of the tran-y soin-bar and beneath the hood thereof, without projecting over Aand obscuring any portion of the show window`. ..lMy.power device Vis'positioned at any desired'point in the width of the awning,

Vparallel to and beneath and'in front ofthe roller 19. Arrotatingsprocket 23, Fig. 4, extendsfrom Vo ne'end Yof the power device and is connected with a similar sprocket 24 on the awning roller shaft by'a suitable chain indicatedrat v25. Thus my power r'device is inconspicuous, and requires vrno projectingjfbracket or housing tov mar the face of the building. In thevrecess construction, as shown in Fig. 4, when the awning is fully retracted, the entire mechanism is concealed, and in the transom-bar construction illustrated in Fig. 8, it is only slightly less concealed. yBracketsy 26 secure the power device 22 to the rear wall of the recess or to the transom-bar. y

My power mechanism comprises an electric motor 27 at one end, a speed reducing. gearmechf. anism 28 in the center and an automatic con-y trolling switch mechanism 29 at Vthe other'end," as shown in Fig.,2. The motor, in order'to pro` vide sufficient power within so small adiameter,

must necessarily operateat high speed, in pr'acv tice about 3500 R. P. M. The driven shaft, upon which is carried the sprocket 23, must turn at only av few revolutions per minute, so that a great reduction in speed mustbe obtained in the' gear mechanism. order f to accomplish this reduction in speed, I employ a two stage'worm` mechanism arranged in such a manner asto enable it to be housed withinr a space ofthe YsaineV diameter as thatA of the motor. The motorshaft 30 is connected by a separable coupling 31 with a short longitudinal `shaft l32 Vupon which is se-` cured a worm 3 3. The latter meshes with a worm wheel 34 upon a transverse shaft35jwhich also"Y carries a spur gear 36, Figs. 2 and 5.v VVThe gear .45

36 meshes with a spur gear 3'?, Figs. 2 ands, secured upon a transverse shaft 38- parallel to the shaft 35. The shaft 38 also carriesa worm r39 which meshes with a worm wheel 40 upon the'y driven vorlow'fspeed shaft 41. Bearings are provided at 42,v 42 and 42 for the driven shaft, and at 43and 43' for the drivingl orhigh speed tire gear mechanism is housed within an ex-r tension 44 of the shell ofthe motor, and suitable grease retainers are provided at 45 to enable the gear housing44 to be lled with lubricant.

. The automatic Vcontrol switch is housedwithin a separate shell 46, secured to the endof the she1144 and having the saine diameter. For

' purposesy of construction, the inner end of the switch housing 46 carries the center bearing 42 of the low speed shaft, and its inner end 'bearing 1 42 is carried by a. plate 47 'securedbetween the operating with a manually jcontrclledv starting" f the circuit.

worm 49, Figs-2,v 3 and '7,V which meshes with a worm wheel secured to a sleeve 51 journaled upon avertical spindle 52. The upper'vrend of said1s1eeve is provided with 4a cam A53 adapted to bear against a follower 5 4 upon a contact arm 55. The arm'55" is pivoted at 56-toa suitable mounting 56'secured upon an insulating plate 57 mounted within the switch housing. ,The free end of the arm is'adapted for contact with an adiustable yscrew 58 carried by'a bracket 59 also securedto the insulating plate 5'7. A spring 60 normally' holds the arm 55 in contact with the screw 58; andsaid contact is broken bythe cam 53 as s hownin Fig. 3. The worm rwheel 50 has aj downwardly extending hub 61, Fig. '1, .upon which isV slidably mounted a sleeve 62 carrying a ca m 62'. The latter is yieldably held against the The'slow speed shaft 4l isfprovided with a.,

worlnfwheelV 50 by a spring 63 acting against ar plate 64 secured to the lower end ofthe. spindle'vv 52. The cam 62 operates a second contact arm 65, Fig. 2, identical with but electrically separate separate from the 'screw 58. v

Adjustment is provided between the lower cam 62' and the 'worm wheel-50 by means of a flange 67 formed integral with said cam and provided with arseries of holes 68 adapted forl engagement with pins 69 extendingdownwardly vfrom said worm wheel.

` The'pin's are preferably formed upon the ends of screws '70 which hold the sleeve 51 of the uppercam toy the wormwheel. ,Byf

Ysliding the lower` camjdownwardly 'against' the action of the spring 63,A the pins 69 'are freed `fromthe holes 68and said cam canV be rotated with'respec't t thevworm wheel'y and ythe upper Ircam.

An -emergencycut outy device is'preferably provided to insure the stopping of the motor when the awning reachesits retracted position. This is desirable because, ii' the cam mechanism above described isso set as to stopv the motor at the switch housing, andextendin'g upwardly in front of said housing. vAnv extension '14 is secured to the `end ofthe arm '7l/'and is positioned for engagement by the-awning front bar 20 whenthe awning ris fully'retracted; The connection'li' between .the extension 74 andthe spring arm '71.is adjustable to enable said extension to be moved up -or down to insure its engagement by the bar 20. A krod '75 of insulating material` is secured tothe spring arm 71 and extends through the rcover plate 73Yto a position immediately in front of the *upperA contactarm 55. Therefore, when'theawning bar 20 engages thevextension '74, itmoves the arm 7 1 rearwardly, causing the rod '15 vto push the contact arm 55 awayfrom its contact with the screw 58, thereby breaking The electrical kconnections for operating my power mechanism may be arranged in any suitf able mannen as for example, as shown con-` ventionallyv in Fig. 9,in which L yare the rline Vwires supplyingcurrent, and R is a suitable reversing switch lor relay for controlling. the motor 27. The control circuits may*A bevconnected either Vproper time when the awning is dry, it will not function properly when the awning is wet and therefore shrunk to slightly less length. The emergency cut outcorn'prises a spring arm '71, e Fig. "7, fastenedr at '72 to the cover plate 7360i the shaft, one of the latter, 43', being a 4step bear` ing within the end of the drivenshaft. The en- 4 directly with the line or through a transformer T.

S is a manual switch by which the motor may bek started in either-direction or stopped. This switch connects the; control current with either Ac! the contact screws 58 or 66A of the automaticv vswitchyand the contact arms 55 and V65 of said automatic'switch'are connected with the motor' control relay R.- Therefore whenfthe manual v switch S is turned to the position opposite from 1 that in which it is shown, a control current will ow through the automatic contacts 66 and 65,

" when the manual -switch S is turnedv to the other side, as shown, -the control current ilows through proper position.` Closer adjustment ofthe timeA the contacts 58 and 55, which arenow closed, to the lrelay R, causing the motor tov start in the opposite direction to retract the awning. This operation. continues vuntil the cam operatesY the karm to break the circuit, whereupon the motor stops. For simplicity in illustration, the two cams 53 and 62are shown as one in Fig. 9. y

The automatic switch is timed to stop the motor at the proper'points in the travel of the awning in the following manner. The worm 49 and worm wheel l50 are vso proportioned as to cause Said Worm wheel to make less than one revolution during -A the total travel of the awning, and said worm wheel is so positioned with respect to the worm that its xed upper Ycam 53 ""willoperate the upper arm 55 to break its contact when the awning is fully retracted. Thel lower cam is thenset with respect to the'worm wheel and the upperfcam so. as to cause it to joperate the lower contact arm to break its contact when the awning reaches `the opposite end or itstravel i. e, when it is muy extended.

The initial setting of the worm wheel with respectto the wormyto time the uppervcam, is

accomplished by loosening the stud 52, allow ing the worm wheel to be disengaged from the worm. The setting of the .lower cam is accom- 4pllshed by sliding it downwardly against the action of the spring 63v and turning it to the of breaking-the contact is accomplished by turnlng the contact screws'i?.` and 66 in or out.

If for any Ireason the automatic switch fails to stop the motor when the awning reaches the end of its retracting movement, as for example when the cover 18 is wet and therefore shrunk,

Athe auxiliary or safety device will operate, by

contact between the awning frontbar 20 and the spring ann 7.1, to break the contact between the upper switch arm 55 and its screw 58, thereby stopping the motor when said front bar reaches vits fully retracted position, even if the cam 53l h-as not yet broken said contact( `It will bel seen from the jforegoin'g that, by-

housinga motor, speed reducingV gearing, and

automatic switch in an elongated cylindricall Ahousing of vrelatively small-diameter, I am able to produce a power mechanism, suitable for operating an awning, which can be mounted conveniently and easily in a partly' concealed or inconspicuous position adjacent to the awning roller, so that no bracket, housing, or recess is necessary except that which supports and houses the awning itself.` Moreover, by providing a two l stage worm gearmechanism, I am able to make a compact power device suitableforr ,operatingk awnings or forother uses in which low speed is required.

I c1aim: y l. In combination with an awning having retractible `flexible cover vand a front bar secured to the outer edge thereof, power mechanism for retracting. said cover, a movable member positioned forengagement by saidffront bar when the awning is retracted, and means actuated by said movable member for stopping said power mechanism.

2. In combination withr an awning having a retractible exible cover and a front barsecured to the outer edge thereof, electrically operated power mechanism for retracting said (cover, a

.switch for controlling said power mechanism, and a movable operating arm for said switch,

said arm being positioned for engagement by said front bar when the awning is retracted.

3. An awning structure comprising a roller, a

flexible cover wound thereupon, an electric motor, speed reducing gear mechanism positioned at the end of said motor and' connected therewith, a shaft driven by said motor through` saidv z gear mechanism and extending endwise therefrom, a switch-positioned at the end of said gear mechanism remote froml said motor, said switch `being operated by said yshaft to stop saidmotor aftera predetermined number of revolutions of said shaft, a substantially cylindrical housing enclosing said motor, gear mechanismv and switch in a unit, said housing unit being mounted beside said roller and parallel thereto, said shaft extending from said housing, and power transmitting connections between 'said shaft and said roller. v

' JOHN LENARD` STUART. 

